95. May 1, 1856, I borrowed of Charles Rogers $6000 for one year, at 6 per cent interest, and the same day invested it in railroad stock at 20 per cent discount, the par value being $100 per share. July 1, 1856, I received a dividend of $3 per share; and, July 13, I sold the stock for cash at a discount of 10 per cent, sending the proceeds to a commission merchant in New York, with directions to invest it in sugar. This he did, after deducting his commission of 2 per cent on the purchase. Aug. 1, I paid $250 cash for freight and other expenses on the sugar; and, Sept. 1, I sold the sugar to Osgood & Bartlett for $1500 more than the broker paid for it, receiving in payment their note for $3000, due in 4 months, and the balance in cash. Sept. 17; but when it became due endorser, was compelled to pay it. Osgood & Bartlett for 30 cents on a due Charles Rogers. Money being worth 6 per cent per year, did I gain or lose by the transaction, and how many dollars?

This note I got discounted it was protested, and I, as May 1, 1857, I settled with dollar, and paid the amount

96. Jan. 1, 1857, I had my note on 4 months for $6000 discounted at a bank, at 6 per cent interest and per cent exchange. With the proceeds I purchased a lot of cloth. March 1, I gave my note on 2 months for $750 in payment of expenses incurred on account of the cloth. March 15, I sold the cloth at an advance of 50 per cent on its first cost, receiving in payment a note on 6 months. When my other notes became due, I had the note received for the cloth discounted at a bank, at 6 per cent interest and per cent exchange, and with the proceeds met my liabilities. What was my net profit?

SECTION XXIV.

151. ACCOUNTS.

NOTE.-The form of Book-Keeping in 67 is designed for those who have but few business transactions to record. Traders and others having accounts with a large number of persons, will find the following form much better adapted to their wants. It requires two account-books, the DAY-BOOK and LEGER.

(a.) The DAY-BOOK, or BOOK OF ORIGINAL ENTRIES, is ruled as illustrated on pages 96 and 97. At the top of each page is placed the date of the transactions to be recorded. Immediately below the date is written the name of the person with whom, on that date, we first have a transaction on account, followed by the abbreviation "Dr." or "Cr." as the case requires, and also by a statement of the items for which he is debited or credited. The amounts are carried into the money columns at the right. The next transaction in order is then written in the same way, then the next, and so on till the page is filled, or all the transactions of the day are recorded.

(b.) Should there be room left on the page for a part or all the transactions of another day, the new date should be written at the middle of a line, and the entries made beneath it, as just described. The space at the left-hand should be reserved for reference to the leger-page.

(c.) The LEGER is used for collecting and arranging the entries of the Day-Book in such a way that each person's account may appear in a condensed form on a page by itself.

(d.) Each page of the Leger is divided into two equal parts, the left-hand part for the debit and the right-hand part for the credit entries. Each part should be divided into five spaces; viz. the first for the dates, the second for the transactions, the third for refer ence to the pages of the Day-Book on which the original entries are recorded, and the fourth and fifth for the money columns. The left-hand space is sometimes divided into two parts, one for the month and the other for the day of the month.

(e.) The items of the several accounts are not usually given in the Leger, it being sufficient to give the gross amounts, and refer to the Day-Book for particulars. If more than one article is bought on any date, the entry is usually "Mdse." or "Sundries." The specimen pages which follow, will sufficiently illustrate both the Day-Book and the Leger entries.

(f.) The transfer of an account from the Day-Book to the Leger, is called POSTING the account.

NOTE. The careful accountant will keep his account posted up as fully as possible. A habit of negligence in this respect is almost fatal to accuracy and dispatch in the management of our pecuniary affairs.

(g.) The "Cash Account" (67, f and g) may be kept in a separate book, precisely as described in 67, or the cash entries may first be made in the Day-Book, and then be posted to the Leger, like those of any other account. In the following set of accounts, the students may adopt the latter method.

NOTE. Those who do much business usually keep a separate Cash-Book. However kept, the Cash Account should be balanced frequently. (See note, top of page 95.)

(h.) The student may now suppose that, on the first day of July, 1858, he bought the stock in trade of a country merchant for $2000, and commenced business. The first step towards opening his accounts will be to make a careful inventory of his property, which should be recorded either on the first page of his Day-Book or Leger, or in a separate Inventory-Book. In this set, he may write on the first page of his Day-Book as follows:

(i.) Inventory of the assets and liabilities of July 1, 1858

taken

I own cash $200; stock in trade $2000; 1 horse $150, I carriage $100. I owe nothing.

NOTE. The above inventory requires an entry in Cash Account, which, with the Day-Book entries required by the following transactions, is illustrated on page 275.

July 2, 1858.

Sell John Ellis 6 lb. B. H. sugar at 8 cts., 1 gal. molasses at 48 cts., 4 lb. coffee at 12 cts. Sell Mrs. Sarah Brown 9 yd. lawn at 31 cts., 24 yd. cambric at 25 cts, & yd. muslin at 42 cts., and 6 skeins of silk at 4 cts. Sell for cash 1 bbl. flour $6.75, 3 bu. meal at 67 cts., and sundries for $8.27. Buy for cash 123 lb. butter at 20 cts.

July 3.

Buy of George Russell 17 bu. of corn at 62 cts., and 20 bu of oats at 37 cts. Sell Arthur Stanhope 1 pr. hoots $2.67, 1

pr. mittens 92 cts., and 2 locks at 46 cts. with 14 days labor at $1.50. Let Edwin carriage to go 9 miles at 163 cts. per mile. dries $13.21.

July 6.

Credit Edward Jones Smith your horse and Receive cash for sun

Buy for cash 20 bu. potatoes at 50 cts., and 81 doz. eggs at 14 cts. Buy of Day & Austin 1 cask raisins, 98 lb., at 84 cts., 3 boxes raisins each 25 lb. at 12 cts., and 26 lb. figs at 9 cts. Sell John Ellis 314 yd. sheeting at 11 cts. Sell Arthur Stanhope lb. Y. H. tea at 68 cts., and Wm. Jackson 2 gal. molasses at 48 cts. Cash receipts for the day, $11.35.

July 7.

Sell Seth Turner 3 doz. 55 cts., 5 bu. corn at 68 cts. Sell John Harris 151⁄2 lb. cheese at 9 cts., and 71⁄2 lb. butter at 25 cents. Sell for cash 3 yd. broadcloth at $3.25, 1 bbl. flour $6.75, and sundries $9.13.

eggs at 163 cts., 2 bu. potatoes at

July 8.

Sell Mrs. Sarah Brown 8 lb. B. H. sugar at 9 cts., 2 lb. cocoa at 18 cts., 2 lb. white sugar at 12 cts. Cash receipts for the day, $15.

July 9.

Sell Edward Jones lb. tea at 56 cts., 2 hands tobacco at 5 cts., 1 bunch cigars 15 cts. Sell Alice Gray 8 yd. alpine at 96 cts., 44 yd. cambric at 14 cts., 3 skeins silk at 4 cts., 1 yd. drilling 11 cts. Buy of Charles Hewins 1 bbl. crackers $3.75, 12 loaves bread at 4 cts., and 5 doz. cakes at 20 cts. Sell Seth Turner 3 loaves bread at 5 cts., 2 doz. cakes at 25 cts. Sell sundries for cash, $10.13.

July 10.

Credit Edward Jones for labor, $1.12. Cash sales for the day, $23.71. Pay cash for sundries, $1.37.

(j.) POSTING. This being the close of a week, it will be well to post up our accounts. To do this, look on the Day-Book for the first entry. As no separate Cash-Book is kept, it will be: "July 1.

Cash Dr. To cash on hand, $200." We shall, therefore, proceed to open Cash Account in the Leger. To do it, we write at the head of the first page: "Dr. Cash. Cr." Then on the left side of the page we write, first, July 1; second, To Cash; third, the figure 2, to show on what page of the Day-Book the charge is made; and, fourth, the amount, $200. We also write in the DayBook, in the space at the left of the entry, the figure 1, to show that the account is posted to the first page of the Leger.

(k.) An INDEX to the Leger is also necessary. If our business is large, one or more pages must be appropriated to each letter of the alphabet; but, for the present set of accounts, three or four lines to each letter will be sufficient. To make it, write at the head of each page the letter A; then, four or five lines below, the letter B; and so on through the alphabet. Under C should be written: "Cash, page 1."

(1.) Now post up the other entries in Cash Account, and balance the account as explained in 67. The specimen account, page 275, will illustrate this.

(m.) The careful book-keeper will now compare his Day-Book and Leger, to see if all the entries are posted correctly. He finds the first "Cash" entry in the Day-Book, and, if it is posted correctly, he places opposite to it a mark, as X or√. There will thus be found opposite each account in the Day-Book, which has been properly posted, not only the number referring to the Leger page, but the mark to indicate that it has been carefully examined.

(n.) The next Day-Book title being "John Ellis," his account should be opened on page 2 of the Leger, exactly as Cash Account was opened on page 1, and under E in the Index should be written: 66 Ellis, John, page 2." It will not be necessary to balance his account at present.

(0.) Proceed in the same way with each of the other accounts till all are posted, and then make the requisite Day-Book entries for the following transactions:

July 12.

Credit Francis Soule for shoeing horse $1.25. Sell Edward Jones 3 lb. sugar at 8 cts., and 1 lb. coffee at 13 cts. Sell Edwin